Today's News: Our Take - Veteran Broadcaster David Frost Dies at 74

Veteran British broadcasterDavid Frost, who was famous for his interviews withformer PresidentRichard Nixon,has died, his family toldthe BBC.He was 74.Frost suffered from asuspectedheart attackon Saturdaynight while aboard the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship where he was due to speak."His family are ...

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By TV Guide

Examiner

By TV Guide

Posted Sep. 1, 2013 at 11:50 AM

By TV Guide

Posted Sep. 1, 2013 at 11:50 AM

Veteran British broadcaster David Frost, who was famous for his interviews with former PresidentRichard Nixon, has died, his family told the BBC. He was 74.

Frost suffered from a suspected heart attack on Saturday night while aboard the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship where he was due to speak. "His family are devastated and ask for privacy at this difficult time," a rep for Frost's family said in a statement to the BBC.

Born in Kent, Frost began his television career while he was a student in Cambridge University. After graduating, he had a brief stint at ITV before hosting the BBC program The Was The Week That Was from 1962 to 1963. His most notable project was The Frost Report, a satirical sketch show that helped launch the careers of comedians John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. After the program ended in 1968, Frost transitioned to more in-depth interviews withThe Frost Programme.

In 1977, Frost conducted a series of 12 interviews with Nixon on topics ranging from his role in the Watergate scandal to the war abroad. The conversations were later turned into a play and then the 2008 film Frost/Nixon - both which starred Michael Sheen as Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon.

"The Nixon interviews were among the great broadcast moments - but there were many other brilliant interviews," Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement after learning of Frost's death. "He could be - and certainly was with me - both a friend and a fearsome interviewer."

Page 2 of 2 - Frost was the only person to have interviewed all six British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2007 and the seven U.S. presidents in office between 1969 and 2008. In 1993, Frost was knighted. That same year he launched Breakfast with Frost where he continued to interview newsworthy people. In 2006, he joined Al-Jazeera during the launch of its English-speaking service.

Frost is survived by his second wife, Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, and their three sons. A family funeral will be held for Frost in the near future and details of a memorial service will be announced at a later date.